Astronomik Dslr Clip-On: Reducing Light Pollution?

The Astronomik DSLR Clip-in filter is a light pollution filter designed to be used with Canon DSLR cameras. It blocks light from artificial light sources such as streetlights, which tend to emit light at certain wavelengths, while allowing light from celestial objects to pass through. This improves contrast and reduces the colour cast caused by light pollution, resulting in better images of the night sky.

The Astronomik CLS filter is a good first filter for astrophotography

The Astronomik CLS filter is a great first filter for astrophotography. It is a budget-friendly option for those who want to reduce the effects of light pollution on their images. The CLS filter blocks light from mercury and sodium-vapour lamps, which are common sources of light pollution, while allowing light from celestial objects such as nebulae, stars, and galaxies to pass through. This results in improved contrast and visibility of deep-sky objects.

The Astronomik CLS filter is available in various sizes and formats, including clip-in filters for Canon DSLR cameras and round-mounted filters that can be threaded onto a telescope or camera adapter. The clip-in filters are easy to install and compatible with a range of Canon EOS camera bodies. The round-mounted filters offer more versatility as they can be used with both DSLR and dedicated astronomy cameras.

The CLS filter is suitable for visual observation, black and white photography, and CCD photography of celestial objects. It performs well under different lighting conditions, including dark skies and urban areas with light pollution. The filter enhances the contrast between astronomical objects and the background, making it easier to capture details of deep-sky objects.

While the CLS filter is effective at reducing light pollution, it may affect the natural colours in your images, particularly the colours of stars. Strong light pollution filters can result in images with a sea of red stars, regardless of their actual colour temperature. This can be corrected during the image processing stage by adjusting the colour balance.

Overall, the Astronomik CLS filter is a good choice for beginners in astrophotography who want to reduce light pollution and improve the visibility of celestial objects. It offers a good balance of performance and affordability, making it a valuable tool for those starting their journey into astrophotography.

The Optolong L-Pro filter is a great choice for retaining natural colours

The L-Pro filter is suitable for both stock and astro-modified DSLR cameras as it includes a UV/IR block. It comes in five variations: Canon EOS Clip-in APS-C, Canon EOS Clip-in Full Frame, Nikon Clip-in Full Frame, 1.25" Round Mounted, and SLR Camera clip filters: EOS-C, EOS-FF, NK-FF, and Sony-FF. The clip-in style filters are great for camera lens work, while the 2" round-mounted versions are great for threading into a telescope flattener or filter drawer.

The L-Pro filter has been found to produce slight bluish hues in images, which can be corrected in post-processing. It is a good choice for broadband targets like galaxies, star clusters, and some comets. It also works well in suburban environments with light pollution. The L-Pro filter can be beneficial for capturing Milky Way nightscape photography as it can help tame surrounding light pollution without creating challenging colour correction issues.

The L-Pro filter is a true broadband filter that aims to preserve the natural colours of stars in the night sky. It is designed for moderately light-polluted areas, although it has been used under bright skies as well. The L-Pro filter can be a good choice for those under moderately light-polluted skies on the outskirts of towns, as it helps reduce city glow and produce natural-looking astrophotography images with great colour balance.

The SkyTech CLS-CCD filter is a top performer in a city backyard

The SkyTech CLS-CCD filter is comparable to the Astronomik CLS filter, which is also suitable for Canon cameras. The Astronomik CLS filter is designed for unmodified DSLR cameras and has a wider band-pass to produce more natural colours in your images. This filter is suitable for imagers on the outskirts of towns, dealing with moderate levels of light pollution.

The SkyTech CLS-CCD filter is also comparable to the IDAS LPS filter, which offers more natural sky and star colours at the cost of less contrast.

The Baader Moon and Skyglow filter is a great choice for retaining natural colours

The filter's high efficiency preserves image brightness, and many galaxies, nebulae, and globular star clusters are improved due to the reduction of skyglow from the Moon and artificial lighting. The filter's unique spectral characteristics boost colour contrasts, enhancing Jupiter's Great Red Spot and the red hues of its bands, and boosting the contrast of Martian surface features. The background sky is also darkened, and subtle details are improved.

The Baader Moon and Skyglow filter is available in two sizes: 1.25" and 2". It is a great choice for those looking to retain natural colours in their astrophotography. The filter's ability to reduce light pollution while preserving the colours emitted by celestial objects makes it a valuable tool for photographers looking to capture impressive images of the night sky.

The IDAS LPS P2 filter is designed for balanced colour transmission

The IDAS LPS P2 filter is a light pollution suppression filter that is designed for balanced colour transmission. It is a successor to the LPS-P1, utilising IDAS's own Multi-Band-pass Technology (MBT) to suppress the emission lines of mercury and sodium lamps while maximising the transmission of light from planets and stars. The MBT technology maximises the transmission band, making it possible to obtain images rich in colour with the light pollution sources ideally suppressed.

The LPS P2 has a very low transmission reduction rate against continuous spectrum space objects, making it quite effective in suppressing light pollution sources when shooting galaxies, reflection nebulae, and star clusters. It also keeps the leakage of the near-infrared region to a minimum, allowing it to be used for "L" image shootings with CCDs.

The LPS P2 filter uses IDAS's Ion Gun Assisted Deposition (IGAD) coating technology, which provides superior coating durability and safer cleaning. The IGAD coatings also improve the temperature and humidity stability of the filter performance, reducing spectrum shifts down to +/-1nm from the +/-3 or 4nm shift of standard coatings.

The IDAS LPS P2 filter is available for 1-1/4" and 2" (48mm) eyepieces, as well as in numerous sizes to accommodate most popular camera lenses. Each filter lot is tested, and a plot of the spectral response of the lot is provided with each filter.

Frequently asked questions